There’s a town in Illinois called Arrowsmith, and there were some people in my old city who had that as their surname, enough that, for instance, they could order pizza and the person on the other end wouldn’t say, “Yeah, right.”
It’s also the title of a Sinclair Lewis novel. I couldn’t get into it because I just didn’t like the main character.
There was an album, I think by Todd Rundgren’s band Utopia, where the cover was that picture, with the picture superimposed on it. It was called “Swing To The Right.”
Their previous album, “Deface The Music”, parodied that same Beatles album cover.
And a side note to your side note: the Dark Tower appearance of a Captain Tripps ravaged world was not quite the same as the Stand world. There are three possible timelines for The Stand: the original, trimmed down version was set in 1980; the first paperback edition was updated to 1985, and the expanded edition was updated to 1990. When Roland’s Ka Tet visits Topeka and finds it destroyed by the super flu, the newspapers are dated 1986.
It’s a slightly different level of the Tower.
Lynard Skynard. Most ‘southern’ bands except the Doobies.
Bob Dylan, with band or acapella, doesn’t matter.
The Grateful Dead.
Mothers of Invention.
Huey Lewis and the News.
Well, I don’t think they’re especially well-regarded, compared to your other examples and many others in this thread.
ETA: mind you, I have three Huey Lewis and the News LPs, but I was 15 when “Fore” came out and still thought that this was rock’n’roll. I still got them (I never throw away records), but they are among the records I’m most embarrassed about.
I heard way too much of them when they were ‘hot’, and I thought they were so boring. Maybe it was just the total antipathy I had for smug too-old Mr. Lewis that added to my dislike.
Say what now? The Doobie Brothers are southern rock? They’re not from the south. To me, the only song of theirs that sounds vaguely southern is “Black Water” - and probably only because Mississippi is mentioned in the lyrics, rather than the music itself.
They were just a straight-up rock band.
Nothing to be embarrassed about IMHO (and I could say the same about some of the other bands that people have claimed to be ashamed of liking). Without doing any research, my impression is that Huey Lewis and the News have generally been regarded with, on the average, mild approval.
Which seems about right to me. Their music is well-crafted, fun, and enjoyable to listen to in small doses. But they’re not interesting enough, distinctive enough, or innovative enough to be really highly regarded (nor to be one of my own personal favorites).
Have you listened to the first three Kansas albums (“Kansas”, “Song for America”, “Masque”)? I would put their Midwest prog up against European prog any day.
They’re mostly just boring in a “radio-friendly” way, but I’ll never forgive them for “Hip To Be Square”.
I think Huey Lewis’ biggest contribution to music was letting the predecessor band of the News, Clover, play as Elvis Costello’s backing group on his first album “My Aim Is True”. Now that was quality work.
Very correct @fachverwirrt and one last side note that ties the Dark Tower back to the thread, is that it is packed with musical cues that tie back to a huge variety of well-regarded and classic pop/rock music. A website with a pretty decent list:
You’re right, my error.
Are you a righteous man? Is your baby digging you?
I’ve been a Kansas fan for 30 years, and I have all of their pre-1986 albums. They were a great band, but still Prog Lite.
For all their pompous Suites and flights of instrumental fancy, Kansas never strayed far from their Boogie Rock core, keeping things quite smooth and pretty and derivative, compared to European Prog where off-kilter angular originality was the realized goal.
I reach for Kansas when my ears / brain aren’t up for Gentle Giant or Van Der Graaf Generator, but still want music with some challenging aspects, and plenty of pomp, with great vocals.
You can skip to about 3:30 in this video:
For me, Bob Segar & Skynard.
“Heart and Soul” and “I Want A New Drug” were great rock & roll singles that I would still turn up if I heard them on the radio today.
However, after that they started doing all these boring Yuppie-type anthems, “If This Is It” and “Hip to Be Square” and “Doing It All for My Baby” and the like, and I lost interest in them.
I agree, not liking The Beatles’ music is one thing, but claiming they were overrated or untalented is a whole other level of ridiculous. That’s like saying pizza is overrated—blasphemy!
It’s hard to fathom not liking at least some Beatles songs since they explored so many styles: Rock and Roll, Pop, Skiffle, Rockabilly, R&B, Soul, Country, Folk, Psychedelic Rock, Blues, Hard Rock, Avant-Garde, Baroque Pop, Music Hall, Jazz, Indian Classical, Experimental Music… The list goes on! If you can’t find something you like in there, you might need your ears checked.
The rock singing voices of Lennon and McCartney were some of the best in the business, whether solo or in their magical harmonic unison. They were the vocal equivalent of peanut butter and jelly—each great on its own, but together, a classic.
They might not have been instrumental virtuosos, but McCartney’s bass playing comes pretty close. Have you heard “Something” on the Abbey Road album? That bass line is like a perfectly brewed cup of coffee: smooth, rich, and hits you just right. And, the bass line on Come Together is the definition of cool.
Lennon & McCartney’s songwriting is stellar, and Harrison’s was certainly well beyond average—he was only under-utilized because he was eclipsed by the Lennon-McCartney powerhouse. Poor George, always the Ringo of songwriting in The Beatles.
I enjoy virtually all of The Beatles’ output and much of their solo work. Personally, I lean toward Lennon’s solo work. He went darker post-Beatles, while McCartney went lighter and poppier, especially with Wings. McCartney’s first solo album, “McCartney,” is a gem. He played every instrument on that album, and “Maybe I’m Amazed” is a great song. Harrison’s triple record “All Things Must Pass” is also great—who doesn’t love a triple album that isn’t a jazz odyssey?
Sure, I can understand folks not liking The Beatles’ music, but those are the same folks who hang velvet pictures of Elvis in their living room, display plastic fruit in their dining room, and drive 1972 Ford Pintos. We all have our quirks, but let’s not pretend they’re tastemakers.
Give Chaos and Creation in the Backyard a listen. An absolute masterpiece, top to bottom.
Early Styx also had some great prog, especially when John Curulewski was still in the band. They switched over to more of an arena-rock format when Tommy Shaw joined.
“If This Is It” was on the same album as “Heart and Soul” and “I Want A New Drug” (“Sports.”) That actually was a really good album.